Guidance on pub ID seizures

Essex police have issued guidance for pubs on seizing ID that's used fraudulently to try to buy alcohol underage.

It comes amid growing confusion about the issue, with a number of forces saying documents shouldn't be seized. This is despite last month's launch of a Government-backed campaign from the Security Industry Authority (SIA) urging doorstaff to confiscate IDs.

The latest advice from Essex assistant chief constable Peter Lowton, seen by the Morning Advertiser, came in a letter to Chelmsford MP Simon Burns on behalf of his licensee constituent Nick Harmston.

The letter stresses that doorstaff must seek their own advice on seizing ID. But it outlines a protocol for bars if they do confiscate (see box).

Crucially, it says ID should not be stored in a drugs safe because this can hamper police investigations and could lead to claims from the owners if they are forced to miss a holiday, for example.

Lowton's letter says advice from the Home Office is "ambiguous" and "firmly places the responsibility with individual forces to decide whether or not their practices would withstand legal scrutiny".

Harmston, manager of Que Pasa in Chelmsford, where ID continues to be seized, welcomed the advice, but said questions still remain. For example, he questioned why people caught with drugs, but not fake ID, can be detained until police arrive.

Elsewhere, Jason Nixon, who supplies doorstaff in the Midlands area, said: "In Stoke-on-Trent, the police have told us not to confiscate any IDs of customers, which I will bring up in the next pubwatch meeting as the SIA wants the opposite."

Sgt Sarah Salisbury, of Blackpool Police, said doorstaff are advised to seize fake ID. "But the police do not advocate doorstaff to routinely seize genuine passports or driving licences, which are being used fraudulently, as they do not have a lawful power to do so."

Essex police's ID confiscation protocol​

• Licence holders and doorstaff should seek legal advice on whether to seize and retain IDs.

• If a pub staff member thinks a crime involving fraudulent ID has been committed, they should call the police's non-emergency number. Police will respond at the "earliest opportunity".

• If the staff member does keep the document, police will take possession on arrival.

• Documents should be seized and retained with the "express or implied consent of the person presenting it".

• Force should not be used to seize IDs. "This in itself could amount to an offence of assault".

• In relation to "implied consent", the venue may want to display posters saying that fake ID or ID belonging to someone else could be confiscated.

• ID should not be placed in a drugs safe.